In the Land of Shadows and Magic
by ForeverXNejiten
Summary: A boy, a boy who once was an imaginative child, now a eighteen year old with a rotten name and a dull life. Arthur Kirkland never suspected that his childhood friends could be real until he stepped out into that garden one morning. Loosely based of Alice and Wonderland FrUk and UsUk


Intro

It should have been easy. Why wasn't it? Why in the world was it so hard just to except what is right, or what is wrong. That was the young man's thought process on most days. Today was a normal day for him, wake up to the crowded streets of London. The haunting noise of wagons going by that seemed to scorch his soul. He stood and looked out the window which was foggy from the rainy weather. No wagon stopped, but why would it? His family wasn't exactly one of the most liked families in London. They were nothing more than rich and powerful, nothing more.

Very slowly the boy walked over to his bed and sat, his emerald green eyes searching for something less dull, less…apprehensive.

For years the dullness seemed to take over him, what once was an imaginative, carefree child had turned into a grey, understudied eighteen year old.

"How in the world could I let this happen?" He would ask himself. When he was a boy he would play in the garden talking to the fare folk and dance with the sprites, but his mother soon put that all to an end dismissing it as 'Childish games'. She would punish him, send him to bed with no dinner, and refuse to let him play with the other children. His older brothers would poke fun at him and his sister, the only one with a slither of compassion gave up on him too. It all became too much for the boy and all his memories, his 'imaginary' places were taken away from him. That day Arthur Kirkland lost control of who he wanted himself to be and started to morph into what others wanted him to be.

Chapter one

Music. The sweet tune of a melody was running softly through his ears. It was most likely morning not that he could tell. No bright ways of sunlight came through his window, only the slight _pitter patter _of rain marked the window with dreariness. Slowly sitting up he rubbed his eyes and looked about the room. A small wooden desk sat in the corner, a replica wood wardrobe sat on the other side of the room. Each object leaving the room with a feel of loneliness, but it was okay. He was used to it and didn't have the time anymore to think anything of it. Now fully awake Arthur made himself stand from the bed and walk to the wardrobe. The sting of the cold floor stung his tender feet as he made his way across. Once at the wardrobe he opened it to find his normal attire.

A suit, no doubt was the only thing he would be managed to wear and today he picked out a sleek black one. Arthur was a fragile boy, never really grew large like most men. His brother, Angus was the muscular one. Built tall, and strong, he was his father's favorite when It came to things such as showing off but Arthur knew his family had a use for him too. He was the lean one, with messy blond hair and large green eyes. He had gotten his mother's looks that was for sure and it never failed him in the innocence factor.

A loud knock was heard at his door and Arthur jumped slightly looking over.

"Y-yes?" His voice wavered slightly and a gruffer voice replied.

"Mom says to come down stairs. Breakfast has started without yah' and she's not very happy." It was Angus. His faint Scottish accent shined threw every time he talked. Arthur's dad was a Scottish man who had married his mother, an English woman. Each child had a faint Scottish accent but Arthur. Just like his mother he had attained the full extent to her accent and looks.

"Tell mum I'll be down in a second." He replied with all calmness. Arthur had grown up to be the gentleman that he was today. He refused to let his temper get the best of him, at least around his family. Once Angus's footsteps were not heard Arthur opened his door and walked out into the hallway that was the heart of their large house. In the hallway he made his way down and was greeted by several maids with a smile and 'Good morning.''

Everything was so normal, Arthur never had the slightest clue on what awaited him in the garden where his childhood dreams used to lay.

When Arthur entered the dining room he was not noticed despite Angus's drastic orders. He looked around and found that his sister, Eily was smiling and going on about something important to their other brother, Caileen was sitting listening to her with a small frown. Arthur found his mother distracted by father, he couldn't help but notice how strikingly different the two looked when put beside each other. His mother a fair blond women with large green eyes like his own and his father a large man with dark brown eyes and auburn hair. The two together seemed like an odd pair to say the least but Arthur never exactly questioned what brought the two to fall in love with one another.

"Good morning." His voice carried out through the room and only his mother and sister turned to look at him. His sister greeted him with a warm smile while his mother seemed to study him with a worried look. Arthur calmly took a seat at the large dining table before Angus strolled into the room with a confidence that made Arthur sick to his stomach. "Morning lad!" His father called out to Angus as he took a seat beside Arthur. As the servers took their breakfast in annoying chatter rested throughout the family. Arthur tended to stay quiet during these times, not risking any chance to get angry at his family.

"Arthur…" He glanced up at his mother's voice thick with an English accent. She smiled slightly and placed her drink down, "As you know recently in the past two months you have turned eighteen." Arthurs eyes widened, Oh no..not this conversation. "Your brothers are both eighteen also and your father and I have been discussing who will benefit from the family name the most." No, god..please..make her stop. "Your brother Angus will make a fine husband to whatever girl he wishes to marry and Caileen is doing fine with his partner." He heard an ignorant snicker from his brothers.

For the first time he looked at his mother since this conversation began and she returned his stare. "Arthur we would like you to find a nice duchess of some sort. A women of rich attire because your father and I have decided that we want you to live on the Kirkland name." This is what Arthur was afraid of. His family was of very high social matter and marrying the right person was a huge deal. Not only was his mother telling him he had no choose on who he married but that he would have to live this terrible dull life…forever. Arthur shot up from his chair, "Why mother?" His voice raised as a glass fell shattering all over the floor.

"Arthur Kirkland!" His mother yelled appalled at his outburst. "How dare you act like what your father and I have given you is nothing more than a blessing!" His sister flinched at her screams and Arthur stood taller, "Hah! A blessing? Mother are you blind or plain stupid? Who would want that? Why me mother?" He asked with a firm voice and his father spoke up now, "You were chosen boy because both of your brothers have taken a kindness to certain ladies. They will marry and live their own story, but you have not even laid an eye on one. You show us no signs of anything other than a scowl!"

"Perhaps because this drab house affects us all! God dammit mother, don't you see...the name Kirkland is going down the sewage and you want me to go down with it!" He yelled with a small gasp from his sister, "Watch your mouth!" His mother screamed and pushed her plate back. "Using the lord's name in vain. I believe we raised you better than that Arthur." She sat with a scowl and Arthur who was far beyond frustrated pushed his chair in with a forceful hit and with that he stormed out of the room.

How dare she? How dare they? They knew dammit! They knew! The name Kirkland was powerful but it wasn't immortal. His whole family knew that, he knew that soon the name would mean nothing and his family was going to leave it all on him. They were leaving him to rot with it all, How dare they! Arthur looked up quickly and found that he was outside, rain drizzled down slowly and he looked over what used to be a beautiful garden. All that was left of it now was dead parade of weeds, he sighed and bent down observing them quietly. "Ciao!" His head shot up. What was that…? "Ciao!" The voice came from the left and he turned his head in the direction to find nothing.

"I said Cia-" It was cut off, "Shut up bastardo!" Arthur turned again, only two find two men very horribly hiding behind the dead bushes. "Hello?" Arthur asked walking closer, "CIAO!" One of them yelled only to be wacked on the head by the other. "Stupid Fratello! Now he has caught us!" Once Arthur was closer he got a better look. The men were exactly the same, like twins. Each one with brown hair and doe eyes. The only difference was one wore an nnoyed frown while the other waved and smiled happily. Each had a curl on the side of their head, but from where Arthur could see…on different sides. "Who are you?" Arthur asked a bit shocked.

The one with a frown sighed, "Great. Now he can see us and it's all your fau-wait…you can see us?" The man's voice was curious now. "Yey! He can see us! He can see us!" The other yelled happily. All the while Arthur watched them utterly confused. "No, no questo non va bene!" The annoyed one yelled and the other one shrunk back slightly. Arthur could only guess the man had spoken Italian from very few language classes. "Now what are we going to do?" He asked yelling at the one who was now smiling again. "Let's bring him home Fratello! He can be like a kitty!" The scowling, angry one turned to Arthur.

"Well, we'll have to take him to the King somehow. Dammit, and I thought it was going to be a nice day. Well, come on Englishmen, we don't have all day!" The smiling one grabbed a hold of Arthur and pulled him into the bushes, "W-What?" Arthur was taken aback by the two men's strangeness. "What? You act like you've never seen a tree nymph before! " The angry one said and sighed deeply before muttering some profanities under his breath. Arthur couldn't utter a word as the giddy one led him farther into the woods. "Oh, and by the way my name is Feliciano, and that's my big brother Lovino!"

The two turned to look at him and Arthur having no idea what to think and followed along thinking he had finally cracked.


End file.
